Motherhood Only Makes Ani Di Franco More Radical

“I do a lot of interviews where people ask, ‘Now that you’re all happy and content are you going to lose your edge?’ Like there’s nothing edgy about being a mom. Which means that as we all become parents, songs are not written for us anymore, and we have to relive our youth to get off on music or something. Where is the music of where you get older? To be content and secure in your personal life doesn’t make you lose your edge so much. For me it almost gives me more fuel to be radical, to be political, to be fighting the good fight because you have something to stand on. When you’re all wrapped up in your personal foibles it’s hard to have any energy for changing the world or whatever. But now I feel more energized because I have that support system behind me.”

It isn’t hard to impress me when it comes to Ani Di Franco. But I want to send this interview with Ani on Bitch’s web site to every mama that I know. She reminds me of something the iconic feminist Gloria Steinem often says, which is that women grow more feminist with age. I can absolutely see how bringing a child into the world — a daughter, in Ani’s case — gives you that extra push to make it a better place. [Bitch Magazine]

Contact the author of this post at [email protected] Follow me on Twitter on @JessicaWakeman.